The Bergen County Homes Blog

Voter Alert – School Board Elections Are Changing in New Jersey

School board elections in Bergen County and throughout New Jersey have been held on the 3rd Tuesday in April. Because they are a separate election apart from the general elections in November, they’ve never gotten the turn-out of the November elections and have been an extra expense. Starting in 2012 this is going to change for many New Jersey and Bergen County residents.

Signed into law on January 17th of this year, a new regulation allows a school board to move its election to the general election in November. While there is no specified deadline to make this change, towns were encouraged to do so no later than February 12th.

By February 9th twenty-one Bergen County towns had moved their school vote to November: Alpine, Bergenfield, Carlstadt, Cresskill, Elmwood Park, Glen Rock, Hasbrouck Heights, Little Ferry, Maywood, Moonachie, New Milford, North Arlington, Oradell, Ridgefield Park, Riverdell Regional, River Edge, Saddle River, Teaneck, Tenafly, Waldwick and Wallington. Six opted to maintain the April date: East Rutherford, Englewood, Lodi, Palisades Park and Ramsey.

There are 70 locations in Bergen County; if yours is not here, get in touch with your local Board of Education to find out when your school vote is scheduled.

Englewood’s East Hill will soon be filled with the sounds of a beautiful string orchestra.  The Elisabeth Morrow School will hold their annual Summer String Festival for young musicians August 16-20 at the school’s elegant Lydecker Street location.

When you listen to these videos, you can hardly believe this is an elementary school orchestra.  These students are among the most talented and motivated in the metropolitan area, and this unique program is the only one of its kind around here for musicians in this age group.

Admission to this summer program for young violinists, violists, and harpists is highly competitive.  About ten years ago, students from the program were featured in a Carnegie Hall concert staged for the movie “Music of the Heart”.  Yes, children really were playing those instruments!

Students have opportunities for orchestra and sectional rehearsals, ensembles, repertoire and duet classes, and student recitals.  There are also performances by guest artists.  The week culimnates with a gala concert featuring students, all the orchestras, and the entire ensemble.

Englewood NJ today, Juilliard School of Music tomorrow!

Crunching numbers to analyze the real estate market has taught me a lot. Over the years, I’ve found that the relationship between the number of homes for sale and under contract is a great indicator of how the housing market is doing. When that ratio is 2:1, the housing market is strong.

Ok, I know, it’s 2009 and the sky is supposed to be falling but it sure isn’t in Dumont. Right now Dumont has 50 homes for sale and 31 under contract which is way better than 2:1. Plus the time it takes to sell a home has improved dramatically – 72 days for under contract and 93 days for the 25 sales we’ve had over the past 4 months. No matter how you look at it, Dumont homes are rocking! There are several reasons for this.

Dumont is affordable. Property sizes are not too big and not too small which results in a moderate sized house. Dumont typically has what most of us would call a normal sized yard with a normal sized house. This means Dumont real estate works for most of us.

Dumont's school district is very good with a lot of parent participation and a broad range of programs. The town has excellent community services as well. The Borough of Dumont's Official Website is worth a look – it has a lot of information and shows you the strong community spirit that’s here.

The business district is very active with a good mix of retail stores, services and offices. Major retailers have invested in Dumont such as a CVS drug store, Wachovia Bank and Stop N Shop supermarket.

NYC transportation is great – there are plenty of express buses at rush hour and you don’t have to make any changes. Just grab a seat and read the newspaper on the way to work.

Dumont has everything that most people want, is affordable for first time buyers, can handle the more affluent move up market and is a great place to live. No wonder the real estate market is doing well. This does not, however, mean that prices are going up. They aren’t but they’re not sliding down either. If you’re thinking of making a move into Dumont, as a home buyer you’d be smart to do it sooner than later. Things here have turned positive.

Cresskill is celebrating Earth Day in a very special way by having it’s first ever Earthfest which is an all day fun filled event for people of all ages.  There’s going to be a large number of learning activities plus live entertainment by local musicians, a Family Bicycle Tour (it’s also ok if you’re not a family), an Environmental Fun Walk, a volunteer community clean up of the Tenakill Brook and just for the children there’s a Bicycle Rodeo and Safety Check so be sure to have them bring their bike. It’s on from 9 -2 and there will be many environmental groups and regulation agencies present to help educate everyone about how to preserve and protect the environment and to show you how to live a better life by going green. In fact, if you’ve ever thought about buying a green car there will be an exhibit of the latest in green cars. Put together by the Cresskill Environmental Commission and the Cresskill Education Fund, this is a very impressive event that has everything you’d expect of an Earth Day celebration from alternative energy exhibits to an arts and crafts table to foods from organic farms. If it’s about the environment and making your world more green, you’ll find it at Cresskill’s Earthfest 09 at the Recreation Center on 3rd Street. Go to Cresskill's Website and then on to Newsletters where you’ll find all the information in the April newsletter or you can email questions to Earthfest09@aol.com. Bergen County is known for it’s community spirit and Earthfest 09 sure demonstrates it!

In the world of Bergen County real estate, one of the most popular style of homes is the split level.  It’s efficient design, open floor plan, bright sunlit interior and uncomplicated mechanical systems makes these homes highly sought after by buyers.  Bergen County saw an explosion of split level home construction from 1960 through the mid 1970′s.  A wonderful example of the split level design is found in my listing at 18 Ridge Road which is offered at $795,000:

     It’s easy to see the multi level feature of this style: 

    To the right is the upper level where you’ll find all 4 bedrooms.  The lower level of the left is the entry level where there is a formal entry hall, the living room, dining room and kitchen.  One level down on the ground level is the family room, power door with laundry and entrance to the 2 car garage.  There’s also a basement with a rec room and separate storage/utility room.  All in all, you get a lot of living space in these mutli level homes.

The present owner renovated and expanded the home in 2004 – take a look at how well done it is:                                                               

The living and dining rooms are filled with light.  The open floor plan allows for tremendous light to enter the house through the large window at front and sliding glass door across at the end of the dining room leading to the outdoor deck.

 There was a lot of planning that went into this beautiful kitchen renovation and it shows.

This is the family room  on the left and the rec room is one level below – it’s a perfect set up because the adults can relax in the family room while the children are playing in the rec room.   

These 2 rooms in particular demonstrate the versatility of the split level home.

18 Ridge Road was constructed around 1960 and has only had 2 owners but that isn’t all that unusual.  People tend to stay here once they’ve moved in.  Cresskill is a highly prized location – it has an excellent school district, robust business district, terrific town services and a very strong community spirit.  It’s large enough to support it’s own school district but still very much a small town where one easily feels at home.  A classic Bergen County home located in a quiet family neighborhood with an easy commute to NYC, 18 Ridge Road is simply a wonderful home.